Associated Electrics

Associated Electrics
Native name	Associated Electrics
Founded	1964 in Lynwood, California, United States
Founders	Roger Curtis; Lee Yurada
Headquarters	Lake Forest, California , United States
Key people	Gene Husting; Cliff Lett ; Mike Reedy; Davide Ongaro
Brands	Reedy Power, Factory Team, XP, Element RC
Parent	Thunder Tiger
Website	associatedelectrics.com rc10.com

Last updated March 04, 2024

Associated Electrics, Incorporated of Lake Forest, California, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of radio controlled cars, trucks and accessories. Associated Electrics is now owned by Thunder Tiger Corporation from Taiwan. The company is usually referred to as Team Associated.

Early history

The company was founded in 1964 by Roger Curtis and Lee Yurada, technicians at the Douglas Aerophysics Laboratory in nearby El Segundo, California. Slot cars were at the height of their popularity in Southern California at the time, so Curtis and Yurada decided to open a slot car track as a side business. Their experience in fabricating aircraft parts soon led them into producing slot car parts and accessories. So successful was the venture that it turned into a full-time business which they named Associated Electrics. The new company specialized in the manufacturing of a full line of slot car parts, chassis and accessories.

The business had grown by 1969 and was located in a small building in Paramount. Personal issues arose between Curtis and Yurada, leading Curtis to approach early RC racer Gene Husting in hopes that Husting would buy Yurada's share of Associated. The popularity of slot cars was on the wane, but Husting was certain that radio control would flourish as the technology grew. Almost as if in anticipation of the fact, Associated had just introduced a 1:8-scale gas-powered racer, the RC1. Designed by Mike Morrisey, it soon became the most successful car on the circuit. Husting agreed to the buyout in 1970. Still a small business, Associated had only six employees: Husting, Curtis, Husting's wife Midge, and three others.

Radio control takes off

In 1971, Associated moved to Santa Ana, California where they began production of the Husting-designed Associated RC100, a 1:8-scale nitro vehicle. In 1977, the first IFMAR race at Pomona's Thorp Raceway (later to become the Ranch Pit Stop, temporary home of Team Losi) saw the first five places swept by the RC100. RC100 was the second remote control vehicle released by Associated Electrics. It rose to quick dominance in the industry, sweeping the first 5 places at the IFMAR World Championships in 1977.[1] The RC100 went on to win the ROAR Nationals in 1976 and the first IFMAR World Championships in 1977, driven by Associated drivers Butch Kroells 1st, Bill Jianis 2nd and Gene Husting took 3rd place.[2]

Industry develops along with the RC12

Associated would double in size thanks to Roger's next design, the 1:12-scale RC12 electric onroad racer, debuted in 1978. Simpler and far less expensive than the gas powered RC100, the RC12 is credited for much of the hobby's growth as a sport.

Expansion into Reedy electric motors

As electric racing continued to grow, 1980 would see one of Associated's most important partnerships come to fruition when electrical engineer and avid R/C racer Mike Reedy joined Associated. Reedy's development of Yokomo-based motors and carefully matched battery packs led Associated's dominance of electric racing. Reedy-powered cars are credited with 28 IFMAR World Championships to date, the most of any R/C motor manufacturer.

The RC10 generates a new phase of expansion

Early model RC10 buggy. RC10.jpg — Early model RC10 buggy.

Roger Curtis's 1984 design of a serious 1:10-scale electric offroad car not only led to explosive growth within the company, but within the world of R/C racing as well. This new vehicle was the now-famous Associated RC10 buggy. Built on a 6061 aircraft alloy chassis, the new car was, unlike its Japanese counterparts of the time, a serious offroad racing machine. Another 1-2-3 IFMAR sweep would follow in 1985 at the first IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship. The RC10, possibly more than any R/C vehicle before or since, is credited with making the single biggest impact on radio control racing. The success of the RC10 forced Associated to move to a larger facility, which they found in Costa Mesa in 1987.

That same year, former Yamaha technician and professional R/C racer Cliff Lett joined Associated to head the research and development department. This department, consisting of Lett, Roger Curtis and Husting's son, Curtis, were responsible for the RC10 cars that won the IFMAR World Championships in 1989 in Australia, and in 1991 in Detroit. The success of the RC10 coupled with other cars of the time, namely the RC12LW, the RC10L, RC10LSS and the RC10T kept production going for five years and prompted the necessity of extending their building in Costa Mesa.

Gene Husting helped develop cars for Associated until 2000, when he retired. He is responsible for the lineup up to the RC10B3, RC10T3, TC3 and GT RTRs. Five years after his retirement, the company introduced an entirely new line of offroad racers with the introduction the 1:18 scale electric RC18T and RC18MT miniature trucks. In 2006, with 27 IFMAR victories in all, Team Associated is the world's "winningest" RC car manufacturer. Reedy motors, a division of Associated, has powered 28 IFMAR World Champions.

R&D manager and world-class driver Cliff Lett broke the RC land speed record of more than 111 mph (179 km/h) with a heavily modified Associated RC10L3 touring car at Irwindale Speedway on January 13, 2001.

A modified RC10 with an off-the-shelf Parma International 1963 Chevrolet Corvette body was used in the famous chase scene in the 1988 motion picture, The Dead Pool . In it, Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry is being pursued through the streets of San Francisco, California by a highly explosive bomb disguised as an RC car. The "bomb" was actually driven by IFMAR world-champion race driver Jay Halsey. The car was in fact an electric; the sounds of a nitro-powered engine were added in post-production.

New ownership

In 2000, Gene Husting took the decision to retire and sold his share to Roger Curtis.^[1] In 2005, Curtis took semi-retirement and sold Associated Electrics to Thunder Tiger, a Taiwanese RC model manufacturer.^[2] Thunder Tiger expressed hope that the buyout of Associated would make it the fourth largest RC model merchant in the world, following the three leaders at that time (in order) Tamiya, Kyosho, and Futaba/O.S. Engines.^[3]

Offshoots and conversions

Team Associated cars have inspired various conversion from small companies. Several offroad buggies have been developed from the TC3 chassis, most notably the TC3 'o', the Durango range, and recently (and most successfully) JConcepts with their BJ4 and Worlds-winning BJ4 'Worlds'.

All these cars are based around the TC3's drivetrain, which uses two bevel-geared differentials (or "diffs"), with a prop shaft connecting them. On the BJ4, JConcepts used AE diff cases and diffs, and modified the shaft to include a slipper unit. Since then, JConcepts has updated the BJ4 to the Worlds-winning 'Worlds' edition. In Summer 2006, JConcepts "turned the drawings over to Team Associated, which took over and fine-tuned the design for fit and finish" (RC Driver magazine, Dec. 2007). The Associated B44 debuted at the 2007 EP Off-Road World Championships, where it not only qualified on top, but took all three podium positions.

X-Factory, creators of the X-5 4WD Team Losi conversion, released the X-6 conversion kit which converts the B4 Buggy into a mid-motor 4x2 cell configuration chassis.

In the onroad scene, the Associated RC12 series of cars have long been a base for other manufacturers. The unique front suspension from the RC12L3 (and updated on the RC12L4) has become industry standard and is now featured on the majority of competitive 1:12-scale racing chassis.

Related Research Articles

Radio-controlled cars, or RC cars for short, are miniature model cars, vans, buses, trucks or buggies that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. The term "RC" has been used to mean both "remote controlled" and "radio controlled". "Remote controlled" includes vehicles that are controlled by radio waves, infrared waves or a physical wire connection. RC cars are powered by one of the three energy sources—electricity, nitro fuel or petrol. Electric RC models are powered by small but powerful electric motors and rechargeable nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel metal hydride(NiMH), or lithium polymer (LiPo) cells with the former two being the most used. Both NiMH and LiPo have advantages and disadvantages in various RC applications where NiMH is mainly used for recreational and LiPo for more demanding purposes. There are also brushed or brushless electric motors—brushless motors are more powerful, long lasting and efficient, but also much more expensive than brushed motors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Radio Car Association</span>

The British Radio Car Association is an organisation that promotes the construction and racing of all types of radio controlled cars in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1971 by Ted Longshaw and Keith Plested, who was also the founder of PB Racing, a manufacturer of RC cars; they coordinate BRCA affiliated clubs in the UK, and offer insurance for any accidents that might occur.

Masami Hirosaka is a Japanese radio controlled car driver who is considered to be the world's most successful with a record fourteen IFMAR World Championships in 1/12 scale electric, 1/10 scale Pan, 1/10 scale 2WD off-road and 1/10 scale 4WD, all electric. Hirosaka's peers have nicknamed him "Master Masami". He was considered to be one of the highest paid drivers in RC racing, until he retired from the activity. His last IFMAR race was the 2008 world championship in Thailand. His retirement ceremony was on May 3, 2009.

Kyosho Corporation is a Japanese company based in Tokyo, which operates internationally under the name KYOSHO. The company's main office is located in Chiyoda, and the production headquarters are located in Atsugi, Kanagawa.

Horizon Hobby, LLC. is an American international hobby product distributor, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It currently manufactures various hobby-grade radio-controlled (RC) models, as well as Athearn model trains and die-cast models, which it sells direct to consumers as well as to hobby retailers.

Yokomo Co. Ltd. is a Japanese company from Adachi, Tokyo that specialize in radio-controlled cars, it was one of the first manufacturers in Japan to build their own RC cars, sell upgrade parts and it also invented the option RTR cars, but most notable of all is their long-running "Dog Fighter" series of radio controlled buggies, and ultimetly a strong entry on Drift RC Cars mainly through its successes in racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Maifield</span> American remote controlled car driver

Ryan Maifield is a professional remote control car driver from Tempe, Arizona, who currently races for Tekno RC, ProTek RC, JConcepts, amain.com, Hobbywing, Sanwa, Hobby Action Raceway, Stickit1 Racing, VP Racing, and Flashpoint. He formerly drove many successful years for Team Losi, Team Associated, Mugen-Seiki, and Yokomo. He is a two-time ROAR Champion in the 1/8 gas buggy division as well as a multi-time champion in the 1/10 offroad classes. He won the 2017 IFMAR world championships in both 2WD and 4WD in Xiamen, China.

Yokomo YZ-834B "Dog Fighter" is a 1/10 scale electric-powered 4WD radio-controlled vehicle made by Yokomo. Introduced in 1983 for off-road racing, it has been cited by the website, LiveRC, as the first racing specific 4WD buggy The car was marketed in Europe, sold by Graupner, as the Graupner Dogfighter and in the US by Delta Systems, as the Delta Dogfighter.

The IFMAR World Championship for 1:10th Electric Off-Road Cars is a world championship radio controlled car race sanctioned by the International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR). It takes place biennially on odd years since 1987 in its current format but inaugurated in 1985 as a championship for Stock and Modified class It is considered by the radio-controlled modelling industry to be the most prestigious event in the calendar that a number of mainstream hobby and toy brands have fielded factory entries.

A 1:10 radio-controlled off-road buggy is a 1:10 scale radio-controlled dune buggy designed for off-road racing. These cars are based on their full-scale equivalents that are commonly found in desert racing. The buggies are split into two race categories, two (2WD) and four-wheel drive (4WD). These can easily be distinguished visually by their wheel size at the front. Cars are typically electric powered, but nitro versions do exist but are less common because racing classes exist for electric cars. The class is inexpensive and similar to a number of other classes, and this makes them popular with newcomers. The cars are also known as 1/10 off-road.

Sanwa Denshi, widely known as Sanwa, is a brand of wireless equipment best known for its high end radio-control gear for scale modelling use. The company have been a subsidiary of the SMC Group since 1965 and began to diversify into the manufacturing of radio-control equipment in 1974 and remote control devices for home and industrial use since 1985.

The 2015 IFMAR 1:10 scale Electric Off-Road World Championships is the 16th edition of the IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship for 1:10 scale radio-controlled electric off-road buggies sanctioned by the International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR). It was run over two separate classes over eight days from 3 to 10 October, with each class running for three days each in total.

A list of drivers who have been selected to compete at the 2015 IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship via invitation by their respective national sanctioning bodies.

The Tamiya Avante is a historically significant 1/10 scale four-wheel-drive electric offroad competition buggy released in 1988 as Tamiya's 72nd radio control kit under catalog number 58072. The car was designed by Tamiya's veteran designer, Fumito Taki, famous for introducing Tamiya into the radio-controlled car markets and for its better-known cars, including the Sand Scorcher.

Jared Randall Tebo is an American radio-controlled car racer from Raymore, Missouri who specializes in off-road racing driving for Mayako.

Clifton Bradley Lett is an American retired radio-controlled racer and former president of Associated Electrics, where he began his R/C career in 1985. A former motorcross mechanic for Yamaha, he won seven ROAR National Championships, three NORRCA National Championships and the 1991 IFMAR World Championship and was one of the foremost drivers of the 1980s. Lett, known as "the Buggymaster", helped refine the Associated RC10 and other models in the range. He was the first driver to exceed 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) with a radio-controlled car, recorded by Guinness World Records at 111 miles per hour (179 km/h) in 2001.

The 1997 IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship was the 7th edition of the biennial IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship for 1:10 scale radio-controlled electric off-road buggies sanctioned by the International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR) to be run over two classes over seven days between 9 and 16 August 1997 with each class ran for three days.

The 1987 IFMAR/Parma 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship was the second edition of the IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship that was held on the at now defunct Romsey Club which was based on the cite of the Malthouse Inn in Timsbury, Hampshire, near Southampton on the Central South Coast of England.

References

↑ Rohde, Brandon. "Roger Curtis of Team Associated Receives 2013 RC Hall of Fame Award :: ReedyPower.com".
↑ "Thunder Tiger Announcement". Archived from the original on 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2006-05-03.
↑ "Archived copy". www.ettoday.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Rohde, Brandon. "Roger Curtis of Team Associated Receives 2013 RC Hall of Fame Award :: ReedyPower.com".

[2] "Thunder Tiger Announcement". Archived from the original on 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2006-05-03.

[3] "Archived copy". www.ettoday.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1]

[2]

[3]